Pegylated Metal-Phenolic Networks for Antimicrobial and Antifouling Properties

Metal-phenolic networks (MPNs) have recently attracted great interest in material chemistry and biomaterials because of their biocompatible, versatile, and multifunctional properties. In this paper, we describe a facile method for preparation of a designable antifouling, antimicrobial, and substrate-independent coating assembled from the coordination of metal ions and catecholic groups. Hydrophilic and catecholic polymers were synthesized by copolymerization of dopamine methacrylamide (DMA) and poly(ethylene glycol)methyl methacrylate (PEGMA) to afford p(PEGMA-co-DMA). To investigate the assembly and formation of MPN films, two different metal ions, that is, ferrous (FeII) and ferric (FeIII) ions, to react with p(PEGMA-co-DMA) were compared. The binding constants between iron ions and p(PEGMA-co-DMA) have been investigated by ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–vis). Measurements with atomic force microscopy, contact angle goniometer, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were carried out to quantit...